Charity says authorities must act now

A damning report has exposed how unsuitable accommodation is affecting children.  

The expose by Shelter Scotland, outlines children witnessing violence, vermin, isolation, ill health and financial penalties simply because their family could not find a home without the help of the local authority.    

In Their Own Words: Children's Experiences in Temporary Accommodation, is a project led by world-leading experts at De Montford University and University College London. The researchers spoke to children and their families currently trapped in Scotland’s broken and biased housing system.

The findings reveal the impact of temporary accommodation on children’s safety, health and education. 

the new research comes just weeks after the Scottish Government’s own statistics showed that last year 15,474 children became homeless and there is now a record of 10,360 children trapped in temporary homes. 

Despite a promise by the Scottish Government to cut the number of households in temporary accommodation by the end of this parliament, the numbers have risen every year since the election.

The number of children in temporary accommodation has increased by 149% since 2014.  

Shelter Scotland director, Alison Watson, said: “The findings of this research should shame us all. We, as a nation are failing those children trapped in our broken and biased homelessness system. Every child in Scotland has the right to grow up in a safe, secure and affordable home. Experiencing homelessness as a child should not be traumatic and filled with worry but it seems that for the 10,360 who will wake up tomorrow without a home, their problems feel never ending.  

“Temporary accommodation forms an important part of people’s rights. Everyone experiencing homelessness should be given access to temporary housing while they await the outcome of their application. It should act as a safety net and a first step out of crisis, rather than causing a new crisis in itself. What has become clear from this research is that for children, unfortunately, their experience is all too often the latter. 

“This research shows clearly that it is now more important than ever that all levels of government need to tackle the housing emergency and protect thousands of Scotland’s children from further harm. 

“Children have bravely shared their experiences. Their stories don’t just demand to be heard — they demand urgent action. 

“This is our wakeup call.”